This invention generally relates to load floor systems. More specifically, this invention relates to load floor systems for a vehicle with a seat assembly, a structural member under the seat assembly, and a floor space adjacent the assembly.
One of the recent innovations associated with pickup truck design is the development of the extended cab with a second row of forward-facing rear seats. Unlike the so-called cab or crew pickup truck designs with four full doors, these extended cab pickup trucks have half doors that swing opposite the front doors and a slightly smaller interior space.
One of the problems associated with placing a second row of seats in an extended cab pickup truck is that it reduces the storage capacity of the bed of the pickup truck if the overall vehicle length remain the same. That is, the presence of the rear seat interferes with the ability to store objects such as toolboxes, machine parts and other cargo that require relatively large flat surfaces for storage. While effort has been placed into designing seat that could be removed or placed in a retracted position to thereby increase the usable space within the extended cab pickup truck, the resulting area is relatively small and the surface upon which cargo could be placed is generally non-planar and therefore hinders the storage of relatively large items.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have a load floor system that could be used to accommodate relatively large amount of cargo when the rear seats are not being used. At the same time, it would be desirable to have a load floor system that does not interfere with the occupants of the rear seats when the rear seats are being used.
Accordingly, this invention provides for a load floor system that overcomes the problems and disadvantages of the conventional techniques in the art. The invention also provides for a load floor system for a vehicle with a seat assembly, a structural member under the seat assembly, and a floor space adjacent the seat assembly.
Briefly, the invention includes a retractable panel coupled to the structural member, a first link coupled to the retractable panel, and a second link coupled to the retractable panel. The retractable panel, the first link, and the second link cooperate as a portion of a four-bar mechanism to translate the retractable panel from a retracted position under the seat assembly to an extended position over the floor space thereby forming a load floor.